Wednesday, January 25, 2012

RATE MY MASK - Cory Schneider

I'm a sucker for retro. And I absolutely love the ol' fibreglass goalie masks of the 60's, 70's and 80's.

So this mask should fit right in to my style. Right?

Late last season, Cory Schneider switched from a mask design that paid tribute to a number of past Vancouver goalies and turned his focus to just one retro tender.

For those of you who might not know, this 'X' logo design pays tribute to Canucks goalie Curt Ridley.

He played at a time where the team was just trying to tread water in the NHL. Appearing in about 100 or so games between 1976 and 1980, Ridley was the starting goalie for just 2 seasons. Wins? Well they were quite scarce.

By the time he was just starting to gain strides with the organization, a young upstart named Glen Hanlon wrestled the starting gig away from Curt.

He was traded to Toronto for cash in 1980 and played in only 9 more games (registering just one win). His career would end much like it started - struggling just to make a name for himself.

As for Curt's mask, it consisted of the west coast colors and if you look closely, you can see the gorgeous weave texture in the mask...something that all fibreglass masks had back in the day.

Now take a look at Cory's mask. That texture is included. An amazing attention to detail. The faded and worn white also adds to the vintage look.

Mark Hart of Hart Designs was responsible for the look and feel of Schneider's new lid. In addition to the Ridley tribute, Hart added some of the Canucks logos along the sides - and he wanted them to appear as if they were underneath ice (note the 'skate marks' painted on).

From a distance, Cory's mask really pops out. Something that is sorely missing with a lot of goalie masks these days. They are too detailed or busy and a person sitting in the stands can't really appreciate it for the work it is.

This mask gives the fans the best of both worlds. You can get a strong sense of the theme from far away while appreciating the attention to detail upon closer inspection.

Take a moment to watch this video where Cory explains the inspiration for his mask as well as what his backplate is all about.